Michael Jordan will be a major part of the U.S. Ryder Cup team, which will look to win back the title from Europe in their home turf at Medinah Country Club, Illinois.
Davis Love III picked three veterans and one rookie - Dustin Johnson, Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker and Brandt Snedeker -- as his four captain's picks Tuesday, and also announced he would ask for motivational help from basketball legend Jordan.
"I've talked to him," Love said. Michael's going to be hanging around with Fred probably a lot and be an influence.
"I told Michael this a couple weeks ago. One of the neatest things I ever saw in the Ryder Cup was Michael riding in the golf cart with Tom Kite. He came out to watch Freddie and I play and I thought that was one of the coolest things.
"So I want my team, like Fred and I did, to get to see Michael. Rather than him sneaking around in the gallery, I want him to be seen and I want him to be in our team room, be hanging around and be a great influence."
On his picks, Love revealed Furyk and Stricker were always going to be picked on their experience. "I laid it out early on what I thought we needed, and we stuck with it," he said. "I need Jim Furyk. I need Steve Stricker.
"All of the guys on the team will benefit from those guys being in the team room, being in the locker room. And then you can't argue with the golf that Brandt and Dustin have been playing."
Love admitted it was difficult to make calls to people he had not picked, with Rickie Fowler and Nick Watney the notable ones that missed out. "It was tough to leave anybody off," Love said. "This is probably the deepest, strongest year of earning points that I have seen.
"There were a lot of guys that played a lot of really good golf, and you can analyze the number up and down and back and forth. ... There's four great players that we picked that are all playing very well and bring a lot to the team. And it was definitely a tough call for me.
"I've been on the receiving end a couple times of 'I didn't pick you, I'm sorry' phone calls. And they are tough. It's probably the least thankful part of the job, but it's part of the job."
Rookie Snedeker was overwhelmed to be called-up for the team event. "I had no clue one way or another," Snedeker said Tuesday. "Got on the plane, got here to Indianapolis and got a voicemail from Davis just asking if I brought my putter from Boston and if I wanted to be on the team.
"I was just so excited. Couldn't hardly sleep last night. Just a huge, huge thing for my career."
Furyk added: "To have 24 players of the top 36 is mind-boggling. As Davis said, really happy with our team. It's really strong, but we have our hands full. There's a strong team on the other side, and we'll have to play them real tough."
The United States, however, will have four rookies in their team, compared to just one in the European squad, but Love is extremely happy with his final 12.
"The European Team is obviously great," he said. "They are playing well. I know they are going to be tough. But I can tell you this: I love my team, I'm excited about my team, and I can't wait to see how it matches up."
U.S. Team: Tiger Woods, Jason Dufner, Bubba Watson, Webb Simpson, Keegan Bradley, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker, Brandt Snedeker.
Europe: Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Paul Lawrie, Graeme McDowell, Francesco Molinari, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Peter Hanson, Martin Kaymer, Ian Poulter, Nicolas Colsaerts.
